Official Democrat website: Palin pick 'lipstick on a pig'

Image posted on Democratic National Committee website

The official website of the Democratic Party has a blog posting entitled, "McCain's Selection of Palin is Lipstick on a Pig," illustrated by an altered photograph of a pig with makeup, designer glasses and pearls.

"Palin is a red herring, lipstick on the Republican pig to distract Americans from the real issue that under the leadership of the Republicans the last 8 years, our country is falling apart," writes the blogger, Elizabeth Berry, a self-described 49-year-old "progressive" from Texas.

The posting was published 11 days ago, well before Sen. Barack Obama drew sharp criticism yesterday when he jabbed at Palin and Sen. John McCain's idea of "change" by stating, 'You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.'"

Obama was speaking at a campaign event in Virginia.

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Like Obama's official campaign site, the official Democratic Party website allows registered members to post user blogs. The Democratic site, paid for by the Democratic National Committee, features tens of thousands of user blog postings. It wasn't clear whether the website staff monitors the large volume of content posted daily. It is doubtful Obama's staff was aware of the pig posting.

At a campaign appearance in Norfolk, Va., this morning, Obama took time from his prepared remarks to respond to the controversy, insisting it was an "innocent comment." The Democratic candidate alluded to a McCain campaign ad today that suggested the comment was sexist, calling it "lies and phony outrage and swift-boat politics."

In her Aug. 30 posting on the Democratic Party website, registered user Berry lashes out at Palin:

"Palin does not change one single thing of what the Republicans are offering which is four more years of George Bush. All that McCain did was to put lipstick on the Pig.

"The same people who do not like the Bush Administration for what it has done to this nation are not going to be fooled by the lipstick on the pig. And it they think that the American public are so stupid that they will rush over now and kiss their pig of a platform because it is wearing a fresh touch of lipstick, well I think they will be surprised."

Talk radio host John Batchelor, who first noticed Berry's blog posting, commented, "This blog on the official Democratic site may or may not demonstrate that Obama's colorful anecdote in Lebanon, Virginia, was scripted by a staffer who was impressed by Elizabeth Berry's enthusiastic sarcasm. It does establish that at least one Democrat interpreted right from the first, even before Palin's speech, that Sarah Palin was a threat."

The complete statement from Obama yesterday was: "John McCain says he's about change, too, and so I guess his whole angle is 'Watch out, George Bush, except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics – we're really going to shake things up in Washington!' That's not change ... you know, you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig."

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Obama supporters cheered, with many giving him a standing ovation.

He continued, "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink. We've had enough of the same old thing."

Some say Obama's "lipstick" comment was aimed at Palin in response to her joke at the Republican National Convention. She said, "You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick."

Others suggested Obama's second quip, regarding "old fish," may have been aimed at McCain's age.

Obama senior adviser Robert Gibbs told ABC News the lipstick comment was not meant to be a jab at Palin.

"That's an old expression," he said.

Howard Wolfson, the former campaign chief for Hillary Clinton, told Fox News, "There's no question [Obama] was referring to John McCain and not Sarah Palin, and to suggest anything to the contrary is ridiculous."

Lipstick was mentioned elsewhere by an Obama supporter in reference to Palin.

Rep. Russ Carnahan D-Mo., introducing Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, said: "For all his tough talk, he buckled to the right wing of his party in his choice. And picked someone with zero experience in national government, zero experience in foreign affairs, and there's no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of lipstick."

McCain has previously used the lipstick phrase, too.

Last year while criticizing health proposals from the Democratic presidential candidates, McCain said Hillary Clinton's plan resembled a failed proposed she offered as first lady during the 1990s.

"I think they put some lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," McCain of her proposal.

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